On your mark, get set, see the world of difference a pair of glasses can make

If you make more than $1.90 a day, you are better off than 767 million people around the world living in poverty.[1] At $1.90 per day, less than the average cost Americans pay for a cup of coffee, priorities look different.[2] Every minute you’d have to address the immediate needs you see. But, what about the ones you couldn’t see – literally?

According to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, 246 million people have moderate or severe visual impairment, yet 80 percent of visual impairment is readily treatable and/or preventable.[3] And 90% of blind people in the world? They live in low-income countries. See the correlation?

That’s one reason EyeMed partners with OneSight, an independent nonprofit dedicated to helping the world see. Since 1988, OneSight has helped more than 9.5 million people in 46 countries see clearly. And because clear vision empowers students to perform up to twice as well in school,[4] OneSight is particularly focused on putting children on the path to success.

Meet Colt

Before Colt got his first pair of glasses, he was struggling in school because he could not see clearly. Having compromised vision made school a constant challenge, as visual processing accounts for 80 percent of how children learn. When he put on his glasses he enthusiastically shouted, “They’re perfect!”

With a simple pair of glasses we can change the picture for kids like Colt, helping them realize learning potential that can unveil a world of possibility.

See the difference, be the difference

Every year EyeMed and OneSight join others around the globe to observe World Sight Day, a time to draw attention to blindness and vision impairment. From now until World Sight Day on October 12, you can team up with us by joining a Ready Set See challenge to help raise awareness and funds for the creation of six new sustainable vision centers around world, including a school-based vision center in the U.S.

These materials are designed to provide general information regarding health care topics, do not constitute professional advice nor establish any standard of care, and are provided without representations or warranties of any kind. Quotations, photos and videos are not from actual patients and your experience may be different. Your treating health care professionals are solely responsible for diagnosis, treatment and medical advice. The eye care professionals in your plan are independent practitioners who exercise independent professional judgment and over whom EyeMed has no control or right of control. They are not agents or employees of EyeMed. Eye care professionals do not take the place of your physician.

These materials are designed to provide general information regarding health care topics, do not constitute professional advice nor establish any standard of care, and are provided without representations or warranties of any kind. Quotations, photos and videos are not from actual patients and your experience may be different. Your treating health care professionals are solely responsible for diagnosis, treatment and medical advice. The eye care professionals in your plan are independent practitioners who exercise independent professional judgment and over whom EyeMed has no control or right of control. They are not agents or employees of EyeMed. Eye care professionals do not take the place of your physician.